A cover may be used when a swimming pool, spa, hot tub or wading pool is not in use to prevent rain water, debris and the like from getting into the water. The cover may also serve as a safety device to reduce the risk of drowning by inhibiting the access of children or unauthorized users to the water. However, when the cover is extended over the pool and is in use, water may accumulate on top of the cover. Water may accumulate due to a hole or leak in the cover, from over-spray or misdirected sprinklers, or from rain and snow.
While the accumulated water can be left on top of the cover, it presents both health and safety hazards and may cause damage to the pool/spa cover. For example, isolated puddles tend to migrate toward a depression in the cover thereby creating a larger collection of water in a single location that may create an unwanted load on the cover, which may damage the cover. For at least this reason, removal of standing water is generally desirable.
Currently available options for removing standing water exist, including manually removing small amounts of water with a vacuum hose or the like. With currently available technology, a pump placed directly on the cover may also remove water. As shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a pool/spa 5, having a cover 10 with standing water 15, an on-cover pump 20 may be located on the cover 10 to remove water. The pump creates a low spot or depression in the cover, in which the standing water collects. The pump 20 may also be coupled to a hose 25, the hose 25 having a first end coupled to the pump 20 and a second end for placement in the grass or surrounding deck area 30. As the pump 20 takes in the water 15 from the cover, it is discharged onto the grass or deck area through the second end of the hose 25. Once the water has been removed, the pump 20 may be left on the cover 10, thereby creating a depression to allow continual consolidation of water. The pump may be an automatic pump that senses accumulation of water and turns on or off as needed.
However, the on-cover pump 20 requires user compliance. That is, while the on-cover pump is commercially available, its use is restricted because it requires additional time to place the pump when the cover is in use, remove the pump when the cover is not in use or when the cover is being removed, set the hose appropriately and monitor both the pump and the hose to ensure that the pump does not tip over on the cover and/or the hose does not get moved or disconnected from the pump, thereby rendering the on-cover pump ineffective.
Against this backdrop, the present disclosure was developed.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is to be bound.